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Friday, 9 November 2018

Tony Nwulu, Imo Political Elites And Need For Unity Government.

Once again, Imo State is at cross roads over recent unsavoury political developments that has taken place in some major political parties in the State.This has reinforced or brought to the front burner the sharp division that is hunting the political elites in the State.

Aside the All Progressive Congress, APC that is fueled by a monstrous desperation for power by contending forces, the ruling party has clearly shown an open bias against Owerri zone to produce next Governor of Imo State by conceding it's governorship ticket to aspirants from Orlu zone.

Either Uche Nwosu backed by Governor Rochas Okorocha or Senator Hope Uzodinma who both come from Orlu geo political zone, the governorship ticket of the APC will rest in Orlu that has held on to the governorship of Imo State for more than 16 years to the detriment of Owerri zone that has not produced the State Governor since the advent of democracy in Nigeria in 1999!

The political rivalry between Okorocha and Senator Uzodinma is a just a little flashpoint of how the entire political class in Imo State is enmeshed in political discord over seeming irreconcilable political differences.

In the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, the story is the same. The has betrayed the huge confidence reposed in it by millions of Imolites who had stayed glued to it.

APGA had been embraced in Imo not just because of its bias for Igbo interest but as a political rallying point to remove Okorocha's government from the power.

This explains the huge influx of governorship aspirants who constitute a good percentage of the political elites that flocked into the party. And like a over loaded ship, APGA in Imo State capsized and alongside perished the expectations of the people.

The fraudulent manner the party held its governorship primary and the attendant outburst that trailed such exhibition of bare faced political theft now makes APGA an untrusted political party incapable of salvaging the people of Imo State from years of misery and agony.

The manner Senator Ifeanyi Ararume was "allocated" it's governorship ticket does not only leaves a sour taste in the mouth but has completely confirmed fears that APGA and it's ideals have been hijacked by political undertakers and merchants who have converted the party into a cash cow.

It was the same APGA that placed Imo State on the path of self destruct by availing its platform to Rochas Okorocha to ride to power in 2011 and unleashed the worst form of governance never seen in history that has impoverished the people in the last seven years.

With APGA's failure to uphold the simple tenets of internal democracy, it's high time the people of Imo State look elsewhere and embrace a new political party that will truly serve their interests. I will come to this later.

The above narration brings to the fore again the depth of political desperation exhibited by politicians in Imo State which exposes the depth of political disharmony among the political elites in the State.

Senator Ifeanyi Araraume whom the wheeler dealers in APGA fraudulently enthroned as it's governorship candidate has been in the governorship contest for more than a decade.

In a contest that is capital intensive and taking into cognisance the monumental funds expended by the Senator to oil his guber ambition in the last 10 years, one wonders if Imo State will not be held hostage by strange external economic interests who perhaps have been financially servicing Araraume's guber ambition.

Aside a huge dose of political baggage associated with the Senator, which he will certainly offload when he becomes Governor of Imo State, the issue of zoning clearly short-circuits his ambition to be Governor in 2019.

Proponents of zoning strongly argue that in 2019, it is the turn of Owerri zone to produce the next Governor of Imo State in line with the Charter of Equity.

Owerri zone has a legitimate claim in this regard having been sidelined in the corridors of power of Imo State in the last 18 years. A zone that has not produced Imo State Governor since democracy berthed in the country in 1999 certainly deserves to be allowed to elect a Governor for the State in 2019!

The Peoples Democratic Party and it's governorship candidate, Emeka Ihedioha cannot be ascribed to be the best bet for the people of Imo State at this point in time.

The PDP governorship primary which had produced Ihedioha as candidate is already entangled in legal fireworks following Senator Samuel Anyanwu's resolve to challenge in Court the issue of over voting and other under hand practices which had dominated the governorship primary.

For Ihedioha, going into the governorship election trailed by legal fireworks from his PDP is an indication that the party is a house divided against itself and like APGA lack the political coherence to wrestle power from Okorocha and the APC.

The PDP cannot divorce itself from the sorry condition of Imo State which the APC led government led by Rochas Okorocha simply amplified.

Araraume and Ihedioha are in the same mix. Both of them truly reflect how divisive political actors in Imo State have become.

In the last 10 years, their governorship ambitions have sharply polarised the political class of the State.

One can recall the political fireworks that exists between Ihedioha and Araraume which began in 2015 when the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives "outsmarted" Araraume in controversial circumstances to clinch the PDP Guber ticket.

The attendant consequences that trailed such open political theft further widened the gulf of political enmity not just between Araraume and Ihedioha but among the political class in Imo State especially those loyal to the political cause of the duo.

One can also recall that Araraume and former Governor Ikedi Ohakim (both come from the same Okigwe geo political zone) were once entangled in political fisticuffs when Ohakim emerged Governor of the State in 2007.

Araraume, the then PDP governorship candidate solely held Ohakim responsible for stealing his "mandate" through the back door and went to court to challenge Ohakim's victory.

It is a fact that the intensity of the Araraume/Ohakim rift contributed significantly to the fall of the latter's government in 2011.

The above narrative are clear manifestation that a big rift still exists among these political gladiators which in the long run has contributed in decimating the political class in Imo State. As it is at the moment, Araraume, Ohakim, Ihedioha cannot be the desired unifying factors in the search to liberate Imo State from the sinous tentacles of Rochas Okorocha.

The rupture in APGA in Imo State and the rage exhibited by the aspirants is a further manifestation of how rancourous and disjointed the political elites have become in Imo State.

Also, the ongoing political dynamics in Imo State aside favouring Owerri zone to produce the next Governor of Imo State makes it imperative to elect a Governor who will satisfy the clamour for equity and justice, be a balancing and unifying factor that will glue the political class together that will considerably aid the development and growth of Imo State.

Students of political history argue that no development will thrive in Imo if the political class who are the regulators and heartbeat of the State remain polarised or pummeled by the divergent interests of the political elites.

This therefore makes it imperative for Imo State to have a "Unity Government" that will unite these divisive tendencies rocking the political elites as a basis to chart a new path of economic prosperity for millions of Imolites who have witnessed so much political strife and less good governance in recent times.

In 2019, the State needs a unifier and only a "Unity Government" propelled by an unblemished political character will give the State the desire political and economic direction.

Hon Tony Nwulu, the governorship candidate of the United Progressive Party, UPP remains the ideal "unity Governor" for Imo State in 2019.

It is a truism that Nwulu has not been involved in any of these historical political skirmishes orchestrated by the political gladiators in the State. This places him in a vintage position to mount the saddle of governance of the State to unite all divergent interests.

Nwulu satisfies the zoning agitation having come from Owerri zone and more importantly, represents a new order from the brigade of politicians who have one score or the other to settle.

His candidature transcends beyond zoning as he symbolizes a melting point and unifying factor for the disorganised Imo political class who are at cross roads on which political direction to tow in the search for a new Governor of the State in 2019 that will unite all.

Qualified for the onerous responsibility of giving Imo State a political fresh air, his antecedents and track records speaks of his capacity to place Imo State on the pedestal of political rebirth and economic rejuvenation.

Aside initiating the Not Too Young To Run Act which read on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly, Tony Nwulu is the second Igbo after the great Late Nnamdi Azikiwe to win a Federal Seat in Lagos State, a feat he achieved at the young age of 38!

Nwulu's political party, the United Progressive Party, UPP is free from the rancour and in fighting that reigns supreme in other parties.The UPP has the same configuration with the original intents of the founder of the APGA, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

What Imolites have lost in the show of shame displayed by APGA in Imo State can be recovered in Tony Nwulu's UPP. It is interesting to note that UPP is an offshoot of APGA founded by Chief Chekwas Okorie who alongside Late Ojukwu founded APGA.

In other words What Imolites have lost in APGA is bountiful in UPP!

Hon.Tony Nwulu comes into the fray not just as a unifying factor for the political class in Imo at this point in time but posses those fine qualities that will take Imo State back to eldorado.

The political elites in Imo needs a political liberator, only a non aligned Governor who will restore the political class as a launchpad to build a new Imo State of our collective dreams and expectations is what we all desire.